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Phaeacia

(Encyclopedia)Phaeacia fēāˈshə [key], in Greek mythology, island of Scheria (location unknown). It was inhabited by a seafaring people who were hospitable to sailors and fond of joyous, luxurious living. When O...

Barabbas

(Encyclopedia)Barabbas bərăbˈəs [key] [Aram.,=son of the father], bandit held in jail at the time of Jesus' arrest. Pontius Pilate, who, according to the Gospels, annually released a prisoner at Passover, offer...

Brandão, Raul

(Encyclopedia)Brandão, Raul, 1867–1930, Portuguese novelist. His major theme was the tragic lives of poor people, and he often depicted a nightmare world of suffering ruled by inexplicable forces. His major work...

sharecropping

(Encyclopedia)sharecropping, an agricultural system in which a landowner allows a tenant to use their land in return for a share of the crop produced. In the United S...

rickettsia

(Encyclopedia)rickettsia rĭkĕtˈsēə [key], any of an order (Rickettsiales) of very small microorganisms, many disease-causing, that live in vertebrates and are transmitted by bloodsucking parasitic arthropods s...

culture

(Encyclopedia)culture, in anthropology, the integrated system of socially acquired values, beliefs, and rules of conduct which delimit the range of accepted behaviors in any given society. Cultural differences dist...

exile, in politics and government

(Encyclopedia)exile, removal of a national from his or her country, or the civilized parts of it, for a long period of time or for life. Exile may be a forceful expulsion by the government or a voluntary removal by...

sanction

(Encyclopedia)sanction, in law and ethics, any inducement to individuals or groups to follow or refrain from following a particular course of conduct. All societies impose sanctions on their members in order to enc...

Loammi

(Encyclopedia)Loammi lōămˈī [key] [Heb.,=not my people], in the Bible, symbolic name of the prophet Hosea's second son and figurative name of Israel before reconciliation with God. Cf. Ammi. ...

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